“It was a life of sh*t!”: Former “trad wife” denounces a decade of submission under her husband's yoke

Raised in a very practicing Catholic family, Enitza was married and submitted very young, at 24, to the rules imposed by her husband. She confides in our colleagues at “Envoyé spécial”.

Interviewed by the Envoyé Spécial teams, Enitza, a former “trad wife” remembers being eager to be a housewife: “I was super excited to learn how to cook and do all the household chores".

“I was available all the time, even at night for sex”

But the young woman quickly became disillusioned. In just 6 years, she gave birth to four children: “I got up at 4 o'clock, fed the baby and then put the baby down. And since I was already up, why not start my day with bread ?"

Every day, the young woman prepared all the meals "like an employee" she explains. For more than 10 years, Enitza lived cut off from the world, without friends and without the possibility of having her own credit card: “It was a shitty life!”, recalls the former “trad wife”.

“I did everything I was supposed to do. I was available all the time, even at night for sex. Available for meals, for all his needs, I was there. And I had to do it with a smile”, she explains about her ex-husband.

Also read: “Being sexually available at all times for your husband”: what are “trad wives”, at the center of a “Special Envoy” this Thursday ?

Threats and intimidations

5 years ago, Enitza decided to do something unimaginable for a trad wife; ask her husband for a divorce: “I thought I was doing things right. Then one day you wake up and say to yourself: “Why am I here? ? I'm not happy.”

Since then, her ex-partner has made her life hell, she says. The man has filed no fewer than 135 lawsuits against her to intimidate and threaten her, claiming that she was “crazy” and “drugged”.

The young woman has since contacted a specialized lawyer. Questioned by our colleagues, the latter indicates that most trad wives do not dare to separate from their spouse because they are financially dependent on him: “Many of these women are married to men who have significant financial means but who control all the money”, explains Enitza's lawyer who often agrees to defend these women for free.

Enitza was able to obtain joint custody of her children and wants to show them that another life is possible.

The “trad wives” are people who choose to become housewives but in the 1950s style. Marriage, household chores and taking care of children then become their main concerns.